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CJ's St. Luke Grads Honor Beloved Teacher

Twenty former St. Luke students, now Eagles, attended a special Mass at their alma mater May 15 to pay homage to legendary staff member Fran Bruns, who retired this spring.

“When I received the invitation from St. Luke principal Leslie Vondrell I knew our students would be grateful for the opportunity to attend.” said Dan Meixner, CJ President.

After leaving from CJ Tuesday morning, the St. Luke grads arrived early to greet and thank Ms. Bruns, their junior high reading and language arts teacher, for all of the lessons she taught inside and outside the classroom.

At the celebration, Terry Schneider, pastor at St. Luke Parish, asked every person who had been taught by Ms. Bruns to stand and recognize her. At the end of Mass, CJ students presented her with gifts of appreciation, while friends and family gathered to give one final farewell.

Fran, who served the students at St. Luke for more than 30 years, will be fondly remembered by many for her effective teaching techniques. She always believed the two greatest tools in the classroom were a piece of chalk and a chalk board.

MEMORIESNicholas Dalton, CJ class of 2014

“Her English and language arts courses were phenomenal," said Dalton, who attended the morning celebration with fellow CJ and St. Luke classmates. "They really prepared me for my English classes at CJ. I know I would not have received such good grades here without her influence.

“She was a great teacher. I would not have missed a Mass in her honor for the world.”

Keiley Ayers, CJ class of 2014

“Ms. Bruns really influenced us through her teaching style. The first day of school with her was my favorite memory. She gave us this great speech about ownership in the classroom. That really stuck with me," recounted the CJ sophomore.

“Ms. Bruns taught us how to be prepared for high school. She taught us more than just what was required through the basics. She really wanted us to succeed.

"It’s hard to picture St. Luke without Ms. Bruns," Ayers said. "She worked so hard all of these years and deserved this honor.”